[open] He’s a good time cowboy casanova Leaning up against the record machine...

[godofcologne]

Characters:  Thomas and anyone wandering around Chicago
Time: Daytime, Valentine's Day
Location:  Bars, parks, bookstores, coffee shops, garages, his hotel room. Seriously, anywhere in Chicago
Content:  Hiding from Alice Valentine's Day. Birthday blues.
Format:  Prose or commentspam, poster's choice
Warnings: Beware of Thomas.

[OOC: Choose which of the

Comments

[sailorkindness]

It was a clear day, for now, but Fluttershy recognized the signs of a storm on its way. She had never been one to keep inside while the weather permitted, though, and now she figured was the time to get a better look now that her stay was starting to really settle in. As much as she wanted to get used to this place, everything felt foreign, removed from the way things were back home. The park she'd arrived in was the closest to where she was comfortable.

With a park as forlorn and empty as this one, though, it was easy to notice the lone figure running by the lake. From overhead, she couldn't see clearly, and wondered if perhaps she should leave them be. But as she flew lower, it afforded her a closer look, and didn't he look familiar?

Still uncertain, she flew lower, behind the running man. "Ah, didn't I meet you over the screen the other day?"

[godofcologne]

At first Thomas thought he'd imagined it, the voice from the air, but the words were coherent, albeit soft, and the voice was familiar. He looked up and nearly tripped over his own two feet at the sight of the bright yellow pony hovering in the air behind him.

He managed to catch himself and not land flat on his ass, but he still stared in disbelief for a moment. Definitely a pony.

"Yeah," he answered after the moment passed and she did not disappear like some oxygen deprivation hallucination. "You're Fluttershy, right?"

[sailorkindness]

"Oh--oh dear, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." She really needed to be more careful, humans were apparently just as confused by her as she was by them. It was odd--they all seemed to know about ponies, but were still surprised to see her.

She hoped to cut down on his discomfort with a smile. "Y-yes, that's right. And your name was Thomas? Thank you again for helping me." It suddenly occurred to her that he'd told her not to go outside without someone else, and bit her lip. Oh dear, he wasn't mad to see her all by herself out here, was he? "Umm, are you out here all on your own?"

[godofcologne]

Fluttershy was almost as difficult to make out in person (in pony?) as she had been over the network, but supernatural hearing helped. Thomas couldn't help but laugh at her question, and the laughter helped get his mind over the whole 'It's a pony' mental hurdle.

Of course, it was now stuck on 'it's a talking technicolour pony', but it was progress.

He nodded in affirmation at the name. "No, I've got someone watching my back," he replied, one hand drifting over the small of his back, where the comforting weight of the Desert Eagle rested. "And you're welcome." He paused, uncertain exactly what one said to flying technicolour talking ponies. He gestured to her wings. "Aren't you getting tired of flying up there like that?"

[sailorkindness]

She blinked, looking around. "Oh... I didn't see anyone else around, when I was flying..." Humans were pretty big, after all, and looking how they did, it seemed they'd be awful hard to miss.

"Oh, it's not all that tiring at all, really." Though, as she said it, she settled down on the ground, looking up at Thomas. "It's not all that hard to do, with wings, after all." So long as there wasn't anything, well... scary around. Thankfully, Thomas seemed rather nice. "It's not much different from walking, after all."

She folded her wings and gave him another smile. "I heard there was going to be a party later tonight. Are you going to be coming?"

[godofcologne]

It was probably not the best time to explain his little joke or the gun, so Thomas let Fluttershy's comment pass without response. "Must be nice to be able to fly like that," he said instead, eying the pony as she landed on the ground. She wasn't terribly large but she was definitely a pony. He gave her a discreet once over and tried not to blink too hard at the markings on her flank.

Tattooed talking technicoloured pony. Weirder and weirder.

But she asked a question, and that he could answer. Thomas ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. "Probably not, doll." he drawled, "I'm not good with people."

[sailorkindness]

He kept looking at her oddly, and she couldn't help but feel nervous at the stare. She just needed to remember not to take it personally... "Oh, yes, it is. It certainly makes it easier to get around a place like this." She rubbed one of her forelegs in front of the other. "I've never been very fast or anything at flying, but it's just as natural as walking, really."

His admission about the party, though, got a small nod. "Oh... well, I can certainly understand that. I've never been all that good in a herd, myself." The pony looked up at him. "But... I'm quite sure everyone would be very happy to see you, if you gave it a try."

[godofcologne]

"Well, you're the best flying pony I've ever seen," Thomas said with an easy laugh. Once his mind had gotten over the hurdle of 'it's a pony', his mouth had started reacting normally.

There was something about being convinced to go to a party by a very shy pony that made Thomas think that his life was far far too strange, but it also amused him a little. "Maybe. I'll think about it, at least?"

[sailorkindness]

"That's so nice of you to say... though, I'm really not--" She paused. "O-oh! I see what you meant." The joke earned a small chuckle as it sank in, a bit late.

Thomas seemed to have relented a little at her encouragement, and she gave him another small smile. "Well, I certainly wouldn't want you to come if you weren't up for it. I'm really just very happy that people are still so eager to celebrate in this place. I was worried about how dreary it seemed... n-not that everyone hasn't been very welcome, I mean."

[godofcologne]

In Thomas' personal opinion, certain people were too eager to celebrate, which explained the current hiding. But on the other hand, he and Valentine's Day really didn't get along.

"But being stuck in this city with the weather the way it is isn't exactly the best day ever, no matter how welcoming anyone is?" he suggested.

[sailorkindness]

"That's certainly one way of putting it, yes." She gave what could only be assumed to be the pony equivalent of a shrug, a bit of mane falling in front of her face. "I... I get the feeling that usually even humans don't really live in conditions much like this, do they?" And if they did... well, it was just hard for her to imagine such friendly people coming from such an... unfriendly environment.

[godofcologne]

The question got Fluttershy a curious look from Thomas. "Depends on what you mean by 'like this', princess," he answered. "The city looks like it usually does, but the monsters and the lack of people are new."

[sailorkindness]

She scuffed her hoof along the ground, uncertain if she should really go into details, because what if it really wasn't all that strange, and she was just being insulting to him? "Well, many of the people on the screens, they seemed... oh, well, how do I say this... I suppose it's just, that, um... everyone seems very... stressed." She glanced off. "Well, at least, I hope that not everyone's so upset so frequently. Things seem awfully dreary, even with a party happening."

[godofcologne]

Getting used to the pony part was hard, but now that Thomas accepted it, it wasn't too hard to read Fluttershy's body language, especially in the hesitant way she scuffed her hoof along the ground. "No, normally most of them don't live somewhere where they have to be inside before dark or monsters'll eat them. It takes some time to get used to."

[sailorkindness]

"Oh, I figured not, and, well, hoped not, that just sounds so unpleasant to manage all the time..." She shook her head, mane falling in front of her face further. "It's just so unfortunate. The monsters back home usually kept to their own space, dealing with them can get... awfully scary. Having that every night sounds simply exhausting." Though, she managed a small smile for him. "It's very encouraging that everypony manages to keep their spirits up."

[godofcologne]

His old hairdresser instincts itched to push Fluttershy's hair (mane?) back out of her face, but Thomas kept it back. Though his lips twitched in a smile at the word 'everypony'. "It helps that people keep showing up, reminds everyone that there's somewhere back home to get back to."

Although Thomas would admit that the 'beware of vampires' speech was starting to get old.